[bmzyg]

It's not hard to get up a hill, although for the past several months there has been an exhaust odor while going up very long hills. But now that you mention it, it does seem like when the acelerator is pressed it sometimes takes a few seconds of the engine "wooshing" (my highly non-technical term) to get moving faster, but generally only in the mornings. I do not believe that the mechanic cleaned this sensor. Is it something a reasonably competant (i.e. he just installed a new alternator in his Kia Sephia) husband could do?
P.S. Thanks for the response!